How to make sushi rice- the full recipe

Preparing the sushi rice might look complicated and pedantic at first, but as you go along with it you might notice that it’s just like making ordinary rice, only with rice vinegar added to it, and a bit of Japanese methodology.

I’ve de-complicated the requirements into five simple steps:

Choosing right

Wouldn’t you say that the Japanese have already thought of everything? Well, they did. They even made a special rice for sushi, they call it “shari”, some folks simply call it “sushi rice”. And they even took the time and effort to make it round, so that you can find it easily in the supermarket. Here is how a bag of sushi rice should look like.

Measuring and preparing the rice

Wash the rice (1 cup = 3 rolls) with running water for 1-2 minutes until there is no more starch coming out of it. After you are done washing, take the rice and place it gently in a pot, add a little bit more water than rice ( the ratio is about 1.15:1 in favor of the water). Don’t put too much water, or you’ll get dough instead of rice.

Cooking the rice

The rice should be cooked on high heat at first, stir every minute or two, until the water boils. Then, lower the heat to minimum and cover the pot. Stop stirring, the rice will handle itself from now. Why? That is just the Japanese way… After 6-8 min, check the water level – If there is no more water, only bigger grains of rice in the pot, that means the rice is ready. If not, check back every minute, making sure not to burn the rice at the bottom.

Taking out the rice

There are a few important issues to keep in mind while taking the rice out of the pot. You think I’m kidding right? Well I’m not. First, use only a wooden spoon to handle the cooked rice. A metal spoon will damage the rice, and can also react with the vinegar we’ll add later. Second, don’t scrape the rice out from the bottom of the pot. If it comes out easily, good, if not – leave it be. The rice at the bottom is dry and burned so it won’t taste so good. Use a wooden or plastic bowl to put the rice in to chill.

Seasoning the rice

In order for the rice to taste like sushi rice (and not like ordinary rice), you need to add rice vinegar to it right after it is taken out of the pot.

How is this done?

For 3 cups of (uncooked) rice, use ½ cup of rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of salt. Use only rice vinegar! Any other kind of vinegar will taste bad. -Alternatively, you could use Sushi rice seasoning powder.

Mix together in a small pot, on medium heat until all solids are mixed in.

Pour mixture on rice and mix well. That should take a minute or two.

Let the rice cool down for a few minutes until it reaches room temperature. Don’t put the rice in the fridge to make it cool faster – that will damage the rice. You can however use a fan, A/C or put it by the window.

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Important tip – Some people prefer their sushi rice less seasoned. Also, there might be differences in strength and flavour between different brands of rice vinegar. If it’s the first time you are making sushi rice, and you are not sure, prepare the amount of seasoning described above, but only use half of it. Mix it with the rice and taste. Trust your own senses if you like to use the full amount or not.

Final thoughts

That’s it, you’ve made it! For the sake of the internet, please take a moment to share your experience in the comments section below. Did it turn out as you expected? Better? Ask any question you have, someone should be able to answer and it might even help other people with the same question in the future. And most importantly, enjoy making sushi!

never cool the rice below room temperature, that will make it hard and dry. Given that it does not take not long to prepare the rice it is always recommendable to prepare it freshly, it tastes best when it is fresh and still handwarm.

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Devan

7 days 22 hours ago

What happens if you put it in a glass or metal bowl?

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Sushi rookie Chris

14 days 22 hours ago

Very good, clear, concise directions. The key to good sushi is the rice. I’ve read master sushi chefs take great pride in their ability to create consistently high quality rice.

It won’t taste as good, but if you don’t like salt or have a health concern you can surely leave it out.

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Natalie Essad

1 month 15 days ago

Great recipe! I have never made the rice properly. I always just tried using Basmati….never work or tasted like the real deal. Tonight we had Dutch friends over for dinner and we all made sushi rolls for the first time together and then watched Kungfu Panda. lol. It was a blast…super full Asian themed night. And this recipe helped make it all happen. Our guests said it tasted better than in restaurants too! Thanks. Definitely will be keeping it for future reference.

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Darlene

1 month 23 days ago

This is the perfect Sushi rice recipe! Loved it. The family loved it so much. It was perfectly easy to make in my rice maker. I added the viniger mix after. Thanks for this great recipe!

Teriyaki sauce has salt and sugar as ingredients – can it be combined with the vinegar in lieu of the salt and sugar?

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Chieko

1 month 28 days ago

No! Your rice will end up the wrong color and it won’t be sushi rice!

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DPS

2 months 28 days ago

Great recipe. Works every time…..

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nicole

3 months 2 days ago

What is the best way to cook sushi rice? Rice cooker, pressure cooker, pan, or pot?

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Tyler

26 days 8 hours ago

My aunt is Chinese and makes sushi all the time. She always uses a pressure cooker to make the softness of the rice nice and even. It’s always turns out perfect that way!

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Oraj Dikmen

3 months 6 days ago

I prepared my first sushi ever and it was as good as the local take out’s. I used ‘calrose’ rice and cooked it for 8 minutes but it was a bit ‘al dente’ for my taste. Will try 9 minutes next time. The vinegar mix was spot on though… Now I’m going to try and find recipes to prepare different types of maki and nigiri’s.

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Steve P

3 months 7 days ago

Worked perfectly, maybe a little over on the vinegar although we did use Chinese instead of Japanese rice vinegar. Best tasting sushi rice by a long way. We had 2 cups of rice so had to convert to metric to make the step down easier. 1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, 1 teaspoon = 5ml, the maths was easy from there.

Thank you for a great step by step.

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Rachel Amanda

3 months 18 days ago

Thanks for a great recipe! This was easy to make and exactly the right flavor.

Next time, I’ll keep a bit of boiling water ready near the end of the cooking. The rice was a bit more al dente than I’d usually prefer when it was the right consistency. A splash more water and it would have been perfect.

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Florence

4 months 3 hours ago

Hi! I still don’t get it. Do i mix vinegar, sugar and salt with cook or uncook rice? And if it’s uncook rice, do i have to add in water too?

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James

1 month 17 days ago

You add the vinegar mix only AFTER the rice is cooked when you take it out of the pot. Then you just mix it into the rice and let it cool.

Hi Lilly that’s a very good question! Never tried it myself, only after the rice is cooked. If you do try please let us know!

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Chieko

1 month 28 days ago

I have done it with good results. Just experiment. I’m Japanese and showed my mother. She was skeptical at first but the final result was good and she was happy. Just make sure you reduce water because the vinegar is liquid.

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Leah

3 months 13 days ago

Can you use any other kind of vinager or does it have to be rice vinegar

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Shaun

5 months 11 days ago

I read that you should sweeten the sushi rice with mirin, not sugar. Does it matter?

This recipe worked out very well. I cut it down to 1 cup uncooked rice. I also let my rice soak for about an hour before cooking for stickier grains.

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Lucas Donahue

7 months 2 days ago

So I want to eat healthier and I thought sushi would be the way. Am I able to make sushi the night before and then bring it to school? Or do I make the rice the night before and prepare the sushi before I leave for school?

Sushi is best prepared right before consuming. If you do have to store it for a few hours, make sure it’s properly cooled. If you store the rice in the fridge overnight, try and cover it with a damp cloth, to avoid rice dehydration.

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Casiquire

7 months 26 days ago

Three cups WAS indeed referring to uncooked.

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Jen

2 months 2 days ago

Agreed, I made the same mistake and it was so strong!! 3 cups uncooked next time for me.

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862Casiquire

2 years 4 months ago

I have tried the vinegar thing in my rice and found it horrible tasting . Perhaps what is meant by 3 cups rice is uncooked . I put the 1/2 cup in 3 cups cooked rice and YUK. Going to try and add in 3 more cups cooked rice to mellow out that vinegar flavor . Oh and use brown sugar for the sugar . Three cups WAS indeed referring to uncooked.

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Sharonacles

7 months 29 days ago

I'm just curious, is the only reason vinegar is added to the rice is for flavor? I actually hate vinegar and I've had sushi before and even when the vinegar is mild, I get nauseous. That was actually how I found out that there was vinegar in the rice. If it doesn't affect anything, I might try to make some sushi for myself without any vinegar.

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Robert

2 months 28 days ago

Sushi literaly means vinegared rice so you kinda have add the vinegar

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jods

8 months 11 days ago

I used half of the rice vinegar and it was still sour!

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Sous chef

21 days 20 hours ago

Try white wine vinegar

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Megan Kermanimakemysushi

9 months 7 days ago

I used your recipe but with a bit of variation. The 1:15 to 1 water to rice ratio did not work I had to use more water. I also soaked some lemon peel and seaweed in my vinegar for an hour to give my rice some aroma. Worked well for me! thanks. That's strange, never heard that one before. Can you tell what was the rice brand you used?

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makemysushi

9 months 7 days ago

That's strange, never heard that one before. Can you tell what was the rice brand you used?

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TR

10 months 3 days ago

It helps to let the rice soak before cooking. I keep forgetting the soak time- 20 minutes? 40 minutes? I don't realy care, I soak it anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. It depends on how late in the day it is, if i forget about it, you get the idea. I wash the rice, soak it, drain and rinse again, then put in the pot and add the measured amount of water to cook. It only takes about 10 minutes to cook.

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Magda Barrera

11 months 7 days ago

This recipe was perfect! With some simple instructions I (the worst chef ever) did a pretty nice rice for my sushi 🙂

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Batam Rooms

11 months 28 days ago

Excellent this worked really well and is so delicious. Thanks

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Harold Oduardo

1 year 1 month ago

came out quite good, used same ingridients however i didnt add all the vinegar to rice, left it to taste. other than that, soft, and sticky =D …. btw, tip leave it 30 mins to soak up before cooking o.o

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BubbaBrown

1 year 3 months ago

My rice turned out great, but being from South Louisiana, I already knew how to cook rice. It's a staple food here too. I ended up making 7 rolls, 3 shrimp/avocado/cucumber, 3 salmon/avocado/cucumber, and one inside out roll with shrimp. My wife ate sushi for the first time and loved it. She ate 9 pieces of the shrimp rolls. I cooked my shrimp by boiling it with Zatarains crab boil. That's our usual seasoning here for shrimp. I figured that if the taste was familiar to my wife that she would like it, she did. My first time to eat… Read more »

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adeline-marie

3 months 16 days ago

that is so cool! i live in houston and im planning to make my husband some sushi and crispy rice for dinner tomorrow. so in los angeles, the sushi joints take a piece of sushi rice like the size you would use for an individual piece of nigiri (dominoe size) and fry it up with some black sesame seeds sprinkled on it and a band of seaweed wrapper (nori). you can just dip it in sauce or place fish or veggies on each piece. mmmmm the sushi rice gets a nice crispy crunch on the out side. this must be… Read more »

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BubbaBrown

1 year 3 months ago

Made my first sushi last night, it turned out great. I had a little trouble with the inside out roll, my rice was not perfect. I will watch my rice closer next time or maybe it was my knife. The rice kind of pull apart on a few rolls. Your instructions were very helpful. Domo!

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Hannah Dnwdde

1 year 4 months ago

Yes until it was cool enough to mix the vinegar by hand as it breaks the rice less. But don't leave it to cool completely as the rice will become a sticky mess.;)

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No One Important

1 year 4 months ago

Did you cool the rice before you put your su (vinegar/sugar/salt) sauce on it?Just wondering. There are a lot of tips out there . . but some of them make this rice sound more involved than planning a wedding. (grin)

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Hannah Dnwdde

1 year 4 months ago

Fantastic! Thanks. Rice came out perfect. I did 3 cups of rice to 3 cups and a half water. Half cup vinegar.

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Tailed chibi

1 year 4 months ago

Can I use sushi rice to make an onigiri?

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No One Important

1 year 4 months ago

As others here – I'm preparing to make the leap and try to make some sushi this weekend! I have no idea what possessed me, but I decided I wanted to try to make it.I can assure you, I'll be following this guide. Some of the other instructions are so intensive and laborious, they almost make you think eh, I'll just pick up a phone and order.

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Tia

1 year 6 months ago

Thank you for great instructions for a very successful first sushi! Unfortunately my phone pic is too big. But trust me it was delish!

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Marlene Avila

1 year 6 months ago

We were concerned about the rice because the vinegar really smelled it up! But it turned out to be great! Thank you

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Siri

1 year 6 months ago

Rice has rich minerals to protect use from many health problem, I'm having it atleast ones a day by the suggestion of dietitian which is working very well..

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Jessica Yan

1 year 6 months ago

Nice guide, I combine this guide with an ebook about Learn to Make Sushi at Home http://goo.gl/mDloc, and found great result. can you suggest me more guide?